hello,
i am 58 yrs old. i began recieving Ss disability at the age 44 or 45 due to a freak accident losing complete use my right arm. it had been severed to the elbow.
my husband and i were married in 1998, separated in 2002 and divorced in 2011. he passed away at the age of 86.

Hello Larry,
I am 67, collecting benefits from my former ex-husband of 10 years who has been deceased for about 15 years, he never applied for his benefits. My question is if I remarry will I lose my benefits? He is still working and a widower, but I don't know if he is collecting benefits from his deceased wife. Can you give me both scenarios? Thank you for your time and effort.

Dorie

Hi,

I was married to a man for 11 years who, when he passed away, was collecting SS. Since then I remarried, before the age of 60 and have been married, so far, for 13 years. My current husband is very ill and chances are I will survive him. I would like to collect on my first husbands SS when I become eligible since his amount is much greater than my second husbands. I've read that it is possible but have found no info on what makes it possible or how to go about achieving it.

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your husband's health problems.

My first marriage lasted for one year. My second marriage lasted for 10 years and my ex husband died this year.
I will be 60 next year and am looking at options for retirement. I have a print out of widow benefits from my second marriage, that the local SS office gave me.
I do not know if my first husband is alive or dead. I was told at the SS office that since I was only married to him for one year, I am not eligible for any benefits from him. Is that true?

Hi,

I was married to my first husband for 27 years. We divorced in 2008 when I was 52, and I remarried that same year. I subsequently divorced my second spouse 2+ years later in 2011. I was 54 at the time. My first husband has since passed away. I am currently unmarried, and have reached the age of 60. I found out a couple of years ago about the deceased widow(er) situation, and knew that not remarrying before age 60 would mean I could collect divorced widow benefits on my first husband's record.

Hi Larry,

My 74 yr. old ex is nowhere to be found. Will Social Security notify me upon his death so I can collect on his benefits?? Thanks, Carol

Hi Carol,

They will notify you if they know that you're eligible for benefits, but not otherwise. And, unless you're already receiving benefits on your ex-husband's account, the only way they'll know about you is if someone else files for survivor benefits on his account and lists you as a former spouse on their application.

My father is 93 years old. My father remarried after my mother's death. He and new wife were married 10 years. His then wife died 3 years ago. She was 88. Her social security was more than my father's. Is my father entitled to survivor's benefit from her social security pension? If the wife was receiving survivor's benefit herself (from her deceased husband)at the time of her death, is there any compensation to my father?

Hi,

Hi Larry

I was wondering if I can get divorced survivors benefits, married to 1st husband 12yrs than married 2nd before 50, stayed married with 2nd for 19yrs (separated for 12yrs) 1st husband died about 2 yrs ago and divorced 2nd husband only a few months, will be 66 next yr.

Hi,

Yes, it sounds like you may qualify for surviving divorced spousal benefits on your first husband's record. As long as you are finally divorced from your second husband, there is no waiting period required to qualify for benefits on your first husband's account.